Tag: Amish Fairy Tale series

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: My 2018 Favorites

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: My 2018 Favorites

Posted on by Jaymie

I read a lot of books every year.  I like to keep track of what I read every year and see how it stacks up to years before. Here are some of my reading statistics for 2018.

2018 Stats

Through the course of 2018 I read 418 books.  There were 66 more that I started but did not finish. My stated goal for the year was 250, but I was hoping to get to 365. My highest number since I started keeping track was around 340. I’m pretty proud of all the reading I did this year, and even more proud of walking away from books that aren’t working for me.

Of those 418, the break down for target audience is

  •     36% adult (151 books)
  •     21% middle grade (87 books)
  •     20% teen/young adult (83 books)
  •     18% picture books/early readers
  •      5% transitional chapter books
    And of those, 27 were graphic novels for various ages.

The main genre breakdown is

  • 39% Fantasy
  • 19% Realistic/Contemporary
  • 14% Mystery
  •   9% Science Fiction
  •   6% General Nonfiction (26 books – my goal was at least one per month)

This year most of the books I read were from the library (30%). I read 93 books from my To Be Read shelves (which are overflowing), including brand new books, as well as 110  advanced reader copies from publishers. I also re-read 60 favorites this year. Next year I want to split out my new books and my truly “TBR” books that have been on my shelves for awhile. I’d like to make more progress getting through the books that I’ve had for awhile in 2019.

When someone asks me my favorite genre, I automatically answer “mystery,” but my actual reading did not reflect that in 2018. Last year my genre reading was more balanced between Fantasy, Mystery and Realistic/Contemporary. This year I really went all in on Fantasy, although my top three genres were the same. I’d like to read more mysteries this year. I really focused on adult books again this year, but  my reading for kids – middle grade and teens – was more balanced. I’d like to keep this balance in 2019.

This year I discovered that I do better reading nonfiction if I have a physical book. To stay focused, I need to be able to underline and dog-ear and make notes. In 2019, I want to keep reading 1-2 nonfiction books each month. I am also going to add a spreadsheet to my tracking process to see if I can better track authors and characters of color and other factors.

2018 Favorites!!

At the end of the year, I love to pull the titles of all of my 5 star favorites and then compare them to come up with my favorites for the year. I might not remember every detail about them, but I remember how I felt about them. These are the books I recommend time and time again, the ones I re-read and long to re-read.

You can see my list of favorites from 2016 here and 2017 here. Last year I had one middle grade book, five YA books, and four books for adults (including two nonfiction). When I went back through my list of the 400+ books I read in 2018, I came up with about 35 that were candidates for the best of the year. I whittled that list down to ten – 7 books for adults and three middle grade books. And here they are:

10. The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl – I adored this middle grade novel about a girl who was struck by lightning, which made her a genius. You can read more about it here.

 

 

 

9. Aliens Abroad – Book 16 in the Gini Koch series that I adore. I read the whole series once or twice a year. I read this book twice in 2018, and it was excellent both times! You can read my full review here.

 

 

 

8. The Reckless Club – I felt like this was a mash up of The Breakfast Club and Golden Girls. The elderly folks in this novel are just as engaging as the kids. This was a book I wanted to hug. You can read more here.

 

 

 

7. Six Cats a Slayin’ – Book 10 in the awesome Cat in the Stacks series by Miranda James/Dean James. Right now this is my favorite book in the whole series. Read a full write up on this one here.

 

 

 

6. Captain Superlative – I have been talking about this book to everyone I know – kids, teachers, booksellers. I even wrote about it for another blog about books for kids.  I fell in love with the characters in this one. Read about them here.

 

 

 

5. ‘Twas the Knife Before Christmas – This Christmas series is a staple for me every November/December. Both books so far have had fantastic mysteries, and I adore the setting and characters. Read more here.

 

 

 

4. A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder – I just got around to reviewing this one this week, but I have loved this since I first read it last summer. The mystery is fantastic. I already have book two on my wish list for summer 2019. You can see my review here.

 

 

 

3. Lark the Herald Angels Sing – Book 24 in one of my all-time favorite cozy mystery series. I didn’t get to do a full review of this one in 2018, but it was an excellent combination of Christmas cheer, a great mystery, and the quirky characters I adore. You can read a little more in this post of Christmas books from 2018.

 

 

2. Ella: An Amish Retelling of Cinderella – I have adored this entire series, but Ella is my favorite of the three books. I’d love to see more books in this series, but I don’t know if that is the publisher’s plan. You can read these in any order, and I highly recommend all of them, including Belle and Sadie. You can read more about Belle and Ella here.

 

 

1. Kill the Queen – The cover is what first caught my attention on this one, but the book was even more fantastic than the cover promised. This is my favorite book from 2018. I already have book 2 on my wish list for 2019. I can’t believe I never had a chance to post a full review on this one in 2018!! I’ll be posting a full review as soon as I have an open spot, but you can read the Book News summary here.

 

 

Honorable Mentions

None of the Young Adult Books I read this year made my top ten, but here are my three most favorite YA books from 2018:

Grace and Fury

More Than We Can Tell

Fire and Heist

 

None of the Nonfiction I read made the top 10 either. Here are my top three Nonfiction reads from 2018:

The Path Between Us

Braving the Wilderness

I’d Rather Be Reading

 

My top three picture books from 2018:

We Don’t Eat Our Classmates

Can I Be Your Dog?

Santa Bruce

 

What were your favorite reads in 2018?

REVIEW: Sadie: An Amish Retelling of Snow White by Sarah Price

REVIEW: Sadie: An Amish Retelling of Snow White by Sarah Price

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy from Netgalley and Zebra in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

The forest is Sadie’s favorite place to be. She loves being in God’s creation, listening to the birds and watching the wildlife. It’s her happy place.

Her home used to be a happy place, when it was just her and her parents. Even after they lost her mother, Sadie and her daed were close, making the best of their life. And the early days with Rachel as Sadie’s step-mother were good. But as the years went by without Rachel getting pregnant, her personality changed. She became bitter and resentful. And a lot of her anger was directed at Sadie.

So the forest is Sadie’s refuge from Rachel’s hatefulness. The forest is also where Sadie meets Frederick, an Amish man from a nearby community. He loves teasing Sadie and goes out of his way to spend time with her. But Rachel has her own plans for Sadie. When Sadie feels trapped by her own family and their expectations, she flees to the forest in search of a safe place to hide.

Review

While Ella remains my favorite book in this series, Belle and Sadie are terrific! The author does a masterful job of weaving the classic story – Snow White in this case – into a believable Amish context. I zoom through chapter after chapter to see what elements she’s going to use and how she is going to fit them in.

I enjoyed the character of Sadie. I appreciated her wrestling between generosity and obedience regarding her neighbor and her strong boundaries where she stands up for herself with her family and others. The situation with Sadie’s step-mother built slowly and intentionally to the point where I was holding my breath to see how far Rachel’s manipulation would go. I was completely invested in what might happen to Sadie.

I hope there will be more stories in this series. I have adored each book so far. I cannot recommend this series highly enough!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

REVIEW: Belle AND Ella by Sarah Price

REVIEW: Belle AND Ella by Sarah Price

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of Ella from Netgalley and the publisher, Zebra. All opinions are my own. ]

Belle: An Amish Retelling of Beauty and the Beast – Summary

Belle’s father wasn’t really cut out to be a farmer. In his heart and his mind he is an inventor. Unfortunately, inventing doesn’t bring in any money if no one will buy his designs. As the youngest of three daughters still at home, Belle knows the best she can do is be sure the house is cared for, complete her chores, and hope maybe one of her sisters will get married. A husband could help with the things her father doesn’t do on the farm.

But an accident puts their whole family in jeopardy. Her father is woefully behind on the mortgage, his latest invention was destroyed in the accident before he could sell it, and in desperation he sold the family’s home and farm to the reclusive Adam Hershberger.

Belle knows the townspeople sometimes call Adam a “beast” because of his scars from a fire years ago. His gruff manner doesn’t help that reputation. But Belle is desperate to help her family. So she agrees to marry Adam if he will let her family stay at the farm.

Review

This was delightful! Beauty and the Beast is my favorite of the Disney princess stories. This Amish twist on the story was terrific. Early on, the parallels to the Disney version were almost too on point. But after the wedding, the story developed its own flavor and details that were original and perfect for the context.

I loved Belle and Adam. The Beast-ish moments – the growling, the secrecy, the anger and bitterness – were frustrating. Why wouldn’t he just TALK to her? I loved how Belle stood up to the people in the community for her husband even when she wasn’t sure where she stood with him. The only disappointment for me was the lack of a library scene!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

 

Ella: An Amish Retelling of Cinderella – Summary

Ella Troyer was a teenager when her father told her he was getting married again. Her mother had been gone for awhile and Ella needed a woman in the house to teach her all she would need to know as an adult in the Amish community. His new bride was a widow from another town who had two girls around Ella’s age. Even though her father had never met the woman before, they were to become a  family.

Six years later, Ella is a virtual servant in her family home. After her father’s death, Ella’s step-mother took over his business – the town’s general store – and Ella became the sole caretaker of the home She did all the chores around the house, tended the garden and the livestock, and did all the cooking.  If her step-sisters didn’t want to work their shifts at the store, she also did that. Between her fear of her step-mother and the promise she made to her dying mother, Ella felt she had to take the high road and suffer through all of the abuse without complaint, hoping God would eventually set things right.

When the store starts having money trouble, Ella’s step-mother starts looking into taking on a partner for the business. The family considering the deal sends one of their sons to check out the Troyer family and the business. Hannes is smart and funny. He makes Ella feel special and important. But Ella’s step-mother is determined to drive Hannes away – or claim him for one of her own daughters instead.

Review

This was fantastic! Even better than book one. I don’t read a lot of Amish fiction, but this series is so incredibly good I want to read it again and again.

The author does an excellent job adapting the original fairy tale to an Amish setting. I loved the nods to the classic – mice, a pumpkin, etc. – even though the magical elements are left out. And the way the author works in the “fairy godmother” and the “glass slipper” parts literally made me sit up and cheer. I could see the pieces start to come together, and when they finally did, it was perfect!

Ella’s situation through most of the story was infuriating. Her Amish step-mother used all the Amish traditions about hard work and peace and obedience to manipulate Ella, but didn’t apply them to her own daughters. I longed for them to be put in their places, and when it happened, I was supremely satisfied.

I highly recommend this for fans of romance novels, Amish fiction, Christian fiction and readers who enjoy re-fashioned fairy tales. This was a delight from start to finish. Book three – Sadie – which focuses on the story of Snow White is scheduled for Fall 2018. A new character mentioned in this book could be a hint at a fourth book in the series.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥